Thomas Frank is on the brink of being appointed Tottenham Hotspur boss, with all eyes on how the Dane will work alongside the usually demanding Daniel Levy. Frank is set to become the fifth permanent appointment under Levy since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in 2019, as Spurs look to rebuild following the Ange Postecoglou era.
Even though Postecoglou finished 17th in the Premier League, with 22 defeats across 38 league matches, Frank has a tough act to follow in north London, given the Aussie ended Spurs’ trophy drought. But there is a feeling that Frank is ready to make the step up from mid-table in the Premier League to one with Champions League football, following an impressive stint with Brentford.
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However, even though he’s been credited for his work within Brentford’s data-driven setup during his seven-year stint, Frank hasn’t always been the easiest customer to work with. Instead, according to The Daily Mail, the 51-year-old had opposing views to his chairman while he was in charge of Danish side Brondby.
Frank spent just under three years in charge of Brondby, but his first campaign was complicated by a mid-season takeover, with the soon-to-be Spurs boss not seeing eye to eye with the new owner. His patchy relationship with majority shareholder Jan Bech Andersen came to a head when it was revealed he was posting criticisms about Frank on an online forum under a fake name.
It caused Frank to quit in March 2016, with a move to Brentford following. Frank spent a period of time working as an assistant before stepping into the role permanently following Dean Smith’s departure to Aston Villa.
Despite the animosity, it would appear no bad blood remains between Frank and Andersen, who is still the chairman at Bronby. Speaking to The Mail, he said: “The transition from being a fairly philosophy driven coach for the national youth teams to be a Premier League coach with a limited budget is nothing short of an amazing achievement. His adaptation and pragmatism have been two important factors, and it is fully deserved he now gets a chance at a traditional club like Tottenham.”
Frank will be hoping he’s the one to buck the recent trend of Spurs managers lasting just a couple of years in the job. He’ll be up against it from the off though, not least from a personal point of view, given he’s never managed in the Premier League and Europe at the same time.